In Darkness, Lies
by Delkion
Summary: It was always there.  Always watching.  And always laughing.  Rated M for lots and lots of coarse language, prevalent violence, yadda yadda yadda.
1. Chapter 1

In Darkness, Lies

Disclaimer: I don't own The Darkness, and I don't own Witchblade. Leave me alone.

A/N: Just a little something I wrote to try to get myself back into the fiction writing groove, seeing as how I've been in a bit of a funk lately. I haven't read either of the comic books, but I enjoyed the Witchblade anime and I absolutely loved The Darkness video game. I will probably love the sequel as well, though Nolan North as Jackie Estacado fails. Anyway, like others before me, I figured "why the fuck not," and wrote this. Of course, since this is based in the Witchblade anime-verse, I have changed things about the Darkness. So yeah, read, review, enjoy.

_This is either the Darkness talking or one of Jackie's monologues. It'll be pretty obvious which is which. And if you don't hear the voice of Mike Patton when the Darkness speaks, you fail. Jus' sayin'._

__

_They were always there, in my dreams. The fuckin' trenches. I'd call it Hell on Earth, but I know better. It's the Darkness, it's always the Darkness. Fuckin' with my head. Tryin' to make me lose it, more than I already have. I can hear it in the background, taunting me. Always fuckin' taunting me. It never stops messing with me, goading me on. And I know it won't stop until I lose it, until I give in and just let go. But I can't. I can't let it have what it wants, I can't just let loose like it wants. As if it knows of my thoughts, it gets louder, more insistent. I know I can't resist forever. It wants out, and it wants out soon._

_ And it always gets what it wants._

__

****The alarm-clock's incessant buzzing woke him from his restless sleep. He stretched, yawning as he looked through the blinds to the busy streets of New York City below. If there was one thing he had in common with the Darkness, it was mornings. He hated mornings.

"Yo, Jackson!" a man shouted through the door, "Wake the fuck up, Jackie, we got shit to do!"

"Fuck off, Maurice," Jackie growled, cracking his neck, "I'll be out when I'm out."

He rolled out of the bed, grabbing a pair of black jeans he'd thrown haphazardly on the floor at some point or the other. Pulling them on, he checked himself over in cracked mirror on the wall. A pale teenager smirked back at him, his gaunt face seemingly frozen in that mocking expression. He ran his yellowish eyes over his reflection, noting idly that he'd need to get a hair cut, his inky black locks starting to spill over his eyes. That wouldn't do.

"Hurry the fuck up Estacado!"

Jackie muttered under his breath as he rummaged through his dresser, fishing out a plain white tee and pulling it on over his head. Last but not least, he pulled the false bottom out of one drawer and stuffed his nine mil in the back of his pants, pulling his shirt down over it. A quick tumble with his shoes and he was out the door, meeting an impatient Maurice in the living room. Maurice was a white man on the wrong side of forty, pudgy but not quite obese. He smelled like a horrid mix of undercooked meat and stale booze, and his breath was even worse. No wonder the police had discharged him.

"Bout fucking time, Jackie. Thought I was gonna have to drag you outta there."

Jackie flipped him off as he rummaged through the fridge. He and his foster parents didn't get along all that well, though Maurice was better with him than Janet. Which reminded him...

"Hey, isn't it Mary's recital today?" Jackie asked, pulling out the milk after coming up otherwise empty handed. Cereal it was.

"Yeah, that's why I woke you up," Maurice got up and grabbed himself a bowl, "We gotta get out of here in about a half hour. And behave yourself, you don't want to cause Mary any trouble."

Jackie grunted, pouring himself a bowl and settling down to eat. Mary was... not bad. She didn't go out of her way to be nice, but she was at least decent to him when they had to be together. When they didn't, she left him alone. That was all he could really ask for. The two of them finished up in silence, everything necessary having been said.

__

"And I want today to be perfect for her, do you understand me?"

Jackie couldn't take it anymore, and wheeled around angrily, "For the last fuckin' time, I get it! For fucks sakes, Janet, I'm not a goddamn retard. Fuck."

She snarled at him then, and Jackie noted idly that if it weren't for the consisently ugly expression on her face, she might actually be somewhat attractive. Tall, blonde, blue eyed, and born into money, Janet should've married some rich actor and had a tabloid life, probably released a sex tape or two. Instead she'd fucked around with a bottom rung cop with a desk job, probably to spite daddy. She ended up pregnant and begged daddy to help her out. Instead, he'd bought the two of them a wedding, promised to dote on his grandchild, and cast her out. Jackie almost wanted to meet him. Almost.

Janet made to grab him, but Jackie wasn't stupid. He stepped back quick, bringing his hands out of his pockets and into a lazy boxing stance in front of his face. That stopped her in her tracks. They both knew how that would play out, and Jackie knew which one of them would enjoy it more. Not her.

"Now listen you little shit," she hissed at him, "I will not have you making a scene at my daughter's big day. One thing, just one thing goes wrong, and you get nothing to eat for the rest of the week!"

Jackie, in his regular way, ignored her and walked into the auditorium. He found himself a seat as far away from the two of them as possible and settled himself in for the show. Which, he had to admit, wasn't all that bad. The school band wasn't exactly exciting, but they at least knew what they were doing. And after a while, Mary had come out with her cello and played, as skilled as ever. Jackie had never had much musical talent, but he liked to think he had a good ear for it, and he liked what he heard. He spared a glance over at his foster parents, rolling his eyes when he saw Janet crying in happiness. Maurice just looked proud to be there, which Jackie thought was the correct expression. If he could say anything truly negative about it, it was that it was too damn long. He made sure to stay awake until Mary's song was done, waving and catching her attention so she knew he'd heard it, then settled down to take a nap.

__

_I look around myself, and what do I see? Bodies. Lot's of 'em. People I know, people I've seen on the street, people I've never seen in my life. But they're here now, bloody and broken, lying all over the damn place. And I can hear the Darkness whispering, always fucking' whispering, telling me that this is my future. But that's not what scares me. What scares me the most is..._

_ I believe him._

__

The final round of applause woke him from his nap, and Jackie quickly stood and clapped along with them. The dream still echoed in his mind, but he didn't let it bother him. They'd been happening for a year now, ever since his sixteenth birthday, he'd feel weak if they still bothered him after all this time. The crowd was clearing out, the parents heading to the stage to see their children while the ordinary spectators left to go home. Jackie waited until there was a clear lane to head towards the stage, no sense in pushing through the crowd.

"Hey Mary, great job."

Mary looked over at him and smiled. Ever boy in a twenty yard radius wanted to kill him and take his place. She had her mother's looks, but without the ugly personality. In other words, she was every high school boys wet dream. Of course, Jackie couldn't care less about it, she was his foster sister and her mother would try to murder him in his sleep if she even suspected he was thinking about it. And then he'd have to go on the run for killing the bitch first, and that would be a hassle.

"Thanks Jackie, and happy birthday. When my next check comes in I'll get you something, 'kay?"

Jackie just nodded, he didn't really care if she got him anything, though it was nice that she even remembered. No one else had.

_I remembered, Jackie..._

He mentally groaned. Now it was time for this thing to act up, just fucking perfect. It was all he needed, the murderous personification of all things that go bump in the night taunting him about his birthday. 'Cause that's what it does, it picked apart every thought, every insecurity he had, and through them back at him, laughing all the way. It pissed him off.

"Not today...," he muttered under his breath, following the family to the car.

"Oh, right, so are you excited about going to Japan?"

Jackie looked up, startled. Mary was looking at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. He'd completely forgotten that she'd been invited to play at some executive party in Japan, and the whole family was going on a month long vacation there. In truth, he really didn't care about Japan one way or the other. But she had that happy expression on her face, so...

"Yeah, I can't wait." he lied. And the Darkness laughed.

__

"Yeah, happy fuckin' birthday to me," Jackie spat, walking aimlessly down the street.

It hadn't taken long, not twenty minutes after they got home, the bitch had decided that he was a menace again and started another pissing match. Instead of sitting through another one of her bitch-fits, Jackie had instead left the house. That had been three hours ago, and it was now nearly midnight, and the streets were dark and empty, only the street lamps providing any light at all. Not a place a seventeen year old should be, but he was pissed off. So it was not a big surprise when, instead of being disappointed when the five men surrounded him, he was excited. He could smell the liquor on their breath, hear the slurring words from their mouths, and see their akward, stumbling movements.

"Alright kid, gimme the wallet. Ya don't make a fuss, ya don't get hurt, ya got it?"

Jackie couldn't help himself. He grinned. Not your everyday friendly grin, or your mischievious grin. Hell, it wasn't even an evil grin. Jackson Estacado gave them the most crazed and psychotic grin they had ever seen. Then he laughed, a rolling cackle that had him almost doubled over and shattered every street lamp on the block. When he'd finally calmed down, he looked up into the first man's eyes. The grin under his glowing yellow eyes could only be described as predatory.

"Bring it."

It was fast, bloody, and brutal. As the first man cocked back his fist, Jackie reached into the back of his pants. Quick as lightning he brought the pistol up and fired, putting two in his face. At the same time, a fanged tentacle lashed out and buried itself in another man's chest, ripping and tearing as it burrowed on a quest to devour his heart while it was still beating. A third man was disembowled by a tendril with a wicked blade before the remaining two sobered up enough to realize what was happening. They turned to run, but Jackie wouldn't let them. No, as they turned another tentacle lashed out, and they screamed as they fell, the legs severed at the knees. Jackie stalked towards them, his fanged tentacle ripping itself free with sick squealch, pieces of meat hanging from it's teeth. It was soon joined by another, then another, and still more, their glowing fractured eyes watching the two men with sick anticipation. There was no signal, no indication or sign to begin, but as one they all launched forward and bit into the men's flesh. They screamed as they were torn apart, eaten alive. And through it all, Jackie grinned.

And the Darkness laughed.

A/N: Don't know if I'm going to continue this or not. I might, if I get some reviews or just have enough interest in it. Anywho, if you enjoyed it, please let me know, if you didn't, or had some problem with it, please let me know and why so I can maybe address it. If you just want to flame, feel free as well, but know that I won't really pay attention so you're only wasting your own time.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 02

_The Darkness has been a part of my fucked up life since my sixteenth birthday. At first, I thought it was great. I had fuckin' superpowers, and nobody could stop me from usin' 'em however I saw fit. A fuckin' dream come true. Well guess what, it ain't all sunshine and fuckin' rainbows. This thing is evil, pure and simple. It wants my soul, it wants my body, it wants my everything. And its been winning for as long as life has been on this planet. Its been in my family for centuries, earliest records say it started back in the middle ages. From what the Darkness has been sayin, I figure it's gotta be earlier than that, way back into the time of the Roman Empire. I guess it doesn't really matter when, the bottom line is that this fuckin' thing, this disease, its been winning over the members of my family for generations. And I'm probably not the first guy to think I could stop it. The Darkness just laughs at my resistance. Always fuckin' laughs..._

__

"Where the fuck have you been?"

"Out."

Janet fumed, gritting her teeth at the ungrateful brat that had just blown her off. Where did he get the gall to act like that when she put a roof over his head and food in his stomach?

"What the hell is the matter with you, what have I done to deserve your mouth, huh?" Janet shouted, "Answer me god dammit!"

Needless to say, he didn't, opting to go to his room and collapse on the bed. A soft knock let him know Mary was at the door. Janet would've just barged in, and Maurice just shouted through the door from the coach, lazy fuck.

"It's open," he grumbled, annoyed that his attempt at sleep was being interrupted.

Mary came in, closing the door behind her. In the brief space that the door had been open, Jackie could hear the bitch having a coronary in the kitchen. He smirked.

"She send you in here?"

"No," Mary sighed, "You know that I don't want to get in the middle."

"So?" he prompted, raising an eyebrow.

"I just thought we could maybe, y'know, hang out? For a change of pace?" she was just standing there looking awkward and out of her depth.

Jackie sat up and gestured, "Be my guest."

Mary gave him a bright smile, choosing to plop herself down beside him. He couldn't help it, he smiled. It wasn't a big one, but it was still a smile.

"So you _can_ smile," she teased.

"Shut up," he groused, "It's not my fault Janet's a bitch to me."

Mary sighed, lying back on the bed, "Yeah, Mom doesn't really like you all the much. If it weren't for Maurice, she would've kicked you out a long time ago."

"Well at least one person in this house wants me."

"Hey! I like having you here!"

"Heh, coulda fooled me, princess."

"Jerk. I know I don't show it, but I do."

It was the closest to a normal conversation he'd had in a long time. Truth be told, he did like Mary a lot. She was the closest thing he had to friend, even if her mother hated his guts. In this whole fucked up family, she was the only one he actually felt any kind of attachment to. Sure, he and Maurice would bullshit with each other, but they didn't really have any kind of connection that he'd be sorry to lose. And Janet, well, he'd be happy to lose her.

_I'll be your friend, Jackie..._

"Shut the fuck up," he growled in his thoughts, it was the last thing he wanted right now.

Not really willing to spoil the moment, Jackie just lay back next to Mary, lying in companionable silence for a while before saying their good-nights.

__

_ Y'know, it's funny. I've often thought that I have the power to kill anyone I want, anyone at all, in a manner that would leave no evidence that I did it. And the one fucker that I want dead more than anyone else, I won't touch. All because of the one person I'm close to, the one fuckin' person who makes me feel like I'm worth two shits. I'm not trying to sound all romantic, I get enough of that bullshit in school, but she really is the only damn person on this planet that matters to me. I don't love her, I know that for sure. But I care about her, more than I think I should. And the Darkness knows it. It throws it at me every chance it gets. The one fuckin' good thing in my life, the one fuckin' thing I actually care about, and even it isn't safe from the fuckin' voice in my head. And the laughing. The fucking laughing will be what drives me crazy, if nothing else does._

__

The alarm-clock woke him up once again. Jackie cracked on eye open just a sliver, closing it quickly as the damned daylight burned his vision. For as long as he could remember he'd had trouble in the daytime, some side effect of having a being of pure shadow within him. On the flip side of the coin, he could see in the dark as clear as anyone else could in the day. Even perfect darkness was nothing to his eyes.

"This doesn't help me right now," he grumbled irritably. The Darkness laughed, as always.

Choosing to brave the light, he slowly opened his eyes, growling at the sting. Just as he was sitting up, a soft knock sounded from his door. He grunted an acknowledgment, and it opened slowly to reveal Mary, all dressed up in her uniform sweater and skirt. She smiled at him, raising a brow at his state of dress.

"I know you hate the dress code, but going in your boxers wouldn't be the best idea," she joked.

"Yeah, yeah," he groused, waving her away, "I'm gettin' up, you're welcome to stay."

Surprisingly enough, she did, stepping in and closing the door behind her. She looked around his room as he searched for an acceptable uniform. He didn't spend much of the money he'd made from his part-time job, and his room was pretty bare as a result. A Black Sabbath poster was the only thing on the walls, and a few random items that had grabbed his interest decorated the tops of his dressers. Those dressers, she noted idly, were mostly empty, as the vast majority of his clothes were strewn about the room. It wasn't filthy, there was just stuff everywhere.

"Alright, all dress up in my commie best," he grumbled, "Ready to go to hell."

Mary giggled at his antics. He didn't look half bad in the navy blue slacks and plain white dress shirt that was the boy's uniform. There was also a sweater, but he had torched it as an affront to his senses upon being given it, and try as they might the teachers were unsuccessful at getting him into one. She walked up and grabbed a comb off one dresser, combing his bed-head into something somewhat presentable. His hair was getting longer, his bangs would nearly cover his eyes if she brushed them straight.

"There, now I won't be as embarrassed to be seen with you," she said in her best "I'm better than you" manner, then winked at him and ran out the room.

Jackie sighed and grabbed his pack before following her.

__

There were exactly four things Jackie Estacado valued in his life. The first and foremost was Mary, but he'd never come out and say it. The second was his nine millimeter semi-automatic, which was currently stowed in his bag in a secret pocket he'd cut into the inside. The third was his copy of the Zombie Survival Guide. He didn't think he'd need it, but it was funny as hell and always served to cheer him up. And fourth and finally, and most importantly at the given moment, his iPod. The most expensive thing he'd ever bought with his hard earned cash, and he didn't regret it for an instant.

And at that precise moment it was the only thing keeping him sane. It was music class, and unlike the actual band which got their own rehearsal area, these guys sucked. This was were they dumped the losers who couldn't get into the band as well as the losers who needed the elective credit and didn't want to demean themselves in the drama department. Jackie was the latter, and in hind sight might have chosen to leave his pride at home had he known what he was getting into. His class was, frankly, tone deaf. One or two made something resembling music, but the rest basically spent the hour trying to kill each other's eardrums. When the teacher came to class wearing ear-plugs, you know they sucked. So Jackie just plugged his headphones in, picked a corner of the room and slept through the class. Most of the time the teacher didn't really care. This was not to be one of those times.

"Alright class," the teacher shouted over the noise, "Quiet down for a second."

They did, and he cleared his throat, "Thank you. Now, the school is looking to cut operating costs, and as such is looking to close down some non-essential classes. This includes this one. But! I have managed to get us a lucky break! If we can show that you are actually learning something, they'll keep the class open. Otherwise, they'll close it and you'll all be moved to drama."

There was silence as that sank in. Then there was a collective sigh, they'd thought it might have been important. What he was basically saying was "you're all getting transferred to the drama club" since there was no way he'd be able to fool anyone into thinking they were learning.

"And so, I have decided to enlist the aid of the school band!"

And with that, the band filed into the room. Jackie made the mistake of making and maintaining eye contact with Mary, which in addition to pissing off every guy in the room gave her the opportunity to fix him with an almost evil smirk and wink. He was officially screwed.

A/N: Alright, so I decided to continue on. I'm now back to juggling three fics, as I attempt to get my Naruto fic back on track and continue with my Zoids fic. This one, while enjoyable to write, will not be getting very much love, honestly. It's harder to write this one for me because I honestly want it to be perfect, and writing without a beta sucks. As always, read, enjoy, review.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 03

_So I'll freely admit it, people piss me the fuck off. For every good person you meet, there's another ten fucks who want to screw you over and leave you dead in a ditch. It's people like that that I don't give a fuck about letting the Darkness tear into. Fuck, I enjoy it. But ripping every piece of shit that tries to fuck me over isn't good enough for it, it wants to go absolutely buck-fuckin'-wild and tear everyone I see apart. And really, if it weren't for the few people out there that I can actually stand, I'd probably let him._

_ The fuck does that say about me?_

__

"No no, like this."

Jackie growled as Mary showed him the proper finger positions again. She had somehow talked him into learning how to play the violin, and he was quickly showing that he had absolutely no talent for it. He wasn't alone in his misery, as all around him were the poor saps that had decided to hold onto what little dignity they had left and try to learn how to play an instrument. It wasn't going well.

"Oh, for fuck's sake..." Jackie growled.

"Language, Jackie," Mary was calm and collected, very much a teacher.

Jackie sighed, he couldn't get irritated with her. She was honestly trying to help him, which was more than could be said about their teacher. The useless lump was just sitting at his desk, probably writing a letter claiming all credit for the class's progress. Worthless fuck.

"Right, right, sorry," Jackie muttered, "So it was like this?"

"Yeah, just like that," Mary beamed, "Now, just draw the bow across, and..."

Jackie followed her instructions, and was almost startled when something akin to an actual musical note sounded from his violin. He honestly didn't even expect to make it this far. It seemed that Mary was a better teacher than he'd thought. Though he could do without the big smile she was shooting him, he could practically _feel_ the other guy's eyes on him, and they weren't friendly. He noticed Mary's smile fade and felt the presence of another person behind him.

"Think you're hot shit, Estacado?"

Jackie sighed, he didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. Marcus, the school's golden boy. He was their football team's wide receiver and premier player, with a couple of college teams already looking at him. As such, he thought he was entitled to whatever the fuck he wanted, and the school went out of its way to provide. And as it so happened, he wanted Mary, but she wasn't interested. A fact that she made no secret of, despite his continued advances.

Jackie turned his head and gave him his best "fuck off" look before turning back to Mary. He didn't even need her look of shock to tell what he was doing behind him, and Jackie quickly dropped the violin and leaned to the left. He kept the motion going, turning the lean into a roll out of his chair, turning quickly and grabbing Marcus's second punch. Jackie pulled him forward into his knee, bending him over and knocking the air out of him. He didn't let up there though, hammering his back with an elbow that sent him to the ground. He reared back to stomp on him when Mary put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing hard.

"That's enough," she pleaded with him.

He knew otherwise, but he complied with her wishes, ignoring the screams of the Darkness to bash his head in. He'd let him go for now, but he'd be back. Probably with a few of his flunkies too. Jackie could hear the commotion in the hall, the security officers barreling to their golden boy's rescue. He sighed again.

__

"You've messed up royally, boy."

Jackie resisted the urge to flip the dean off. Anyone else, any other two students got into a fight and it would have been the aggressor who got chewed out. But no, it was him, and even worse he'd kicked the football star's ass. Whoever said favoritism didn't exist in schools was a fuckin' liar.

"I only retaliated, sir, he threw the first punch" this meek routine did not fucking sit well with Jackie, but he needed to be in school.

"Don't give me that, boy," the dean groused, "You know darn well what's coming up."

He did. The big game of the year against the school rivals was next week, and Marcus was sure to be needed. But just because he knew, didn't mean he gave a flying fuck about it.

"Maybe you should take that up with him, sir," the facade was fading fast, "After all, he jeopardized your chances of winning when he picked a fight he couldn't win."

The dean was turning purple at his point, "Now you listen to me, and you listen good. Marcus is rattled, he might not be able to perform at his best next week. And you'd best hope he can, because if he can't, you're through. Do you understand me?"

In the face of an outright threat, meekness could get fucking bent in Jackie's mind.

"So let me get this straight," his voice was cold as ice, "Your telling me that some privileged fuck tries to sucker punch me, and I end up kicking his ass to the curb, and I'm the one that you're threatening with expulsion?"

"That is correct," Jackie wanted to smack that self satisfied smirk off his fat face.

"In that case, and this is from the heart, go fuck yourself you limp dicked son of an AIDS ridden whore."

__

Jackie didn't go straight home. He was too pissed off, and was afraid he'd break Janet's neck if she so much as snarled at him. That wouldn't go over too well with everyone else. So he found himself wandering the streets alone again. It was just getting dark now, but the streets were already fucking deserted. Just shows what kind of neighborhood he was in.

"That fucking prick," he seethed, "Where the fuck does he get off, giving me a week's fucking suspension."

In truth, calling him a son of an AIDS ridden whore might have been a bit much, but Jackie felt it was worth it. He was through putting up with his elitist bullshit.

_You could shut him up for good, Jackie..._

For once, Jackie didn't just tell it to shut the hell up. He couldn't at the moment, so caught up in his rage as he was. Jackie hoped someone tried to mug him, to help get some of his frustration out. He knew he couldn't go home until he'd cooled off.

He was completely blindsided by the first blow. The pipe slammed into the back of his head, sending him to the ground instantly. Then they were on him, a dozen at least, kicking and stomping on him. Jackie curled himself into a ball, tight as he could, and weathered the rain of blows. A particularly vicious stomp to the back of his head clued him into where the ringleader was, and he had a hunch as to his identity. The kicks slowed to a stop, and he felt the leader's breath on his ear.

"Not so hot now, are you Estacado?"

Jackie growled and uncurled in a flash, hammering Marcus's chin with a wicked uppercut that sent him stumbling. Before his cronies could gang up on him again, Jackie ripped the pistol his pants and fired, putting a hotshot into Marcus's stomach. He spluttered and spat, blood oozing from the wound and his gaping mouth as he collapsed to the ground. The others quickly bolted, not willing to risk getting shot. Jackie calmly walked up to Marcus's spluttering carcase and looked him deep in the eye. His eyes were pleading for him to call for help, to save his life. Jackie smiled.

"Don't worry, Marcus," he started to laugh, "The pain will go away soon enough."

And Jackie leveled his pistol with Marcus's eye and fired. Somewhere deep inside Jackie's soul, the Darkness grinned. And laughed.

A/N: I'm glad you're enjoying it, Harlequin. I agree with you that Jackie gets the short end of the stick when it comes to fan writing, most I've read either write him off as a complete and total nutjob or a douche, and many others write him out completely. Jackie Estacado is a complex and compelling character, and it saddens me to see him not get the treatment he deserves. As to the AU-ness, you're exactly right there. The Witchblade anime is already pretty far off from the comics from what I've heard, so I decided that instead of simply writing Jackie from the game into it, I'd start from scratch. I knew I wanted to do the monologues though, those were my favorite part of the game, I hope they keep them in the new one. The teenager thing was actually a complete accident, but I like it. He's definitely more aggressive in his manner than the video game Jackie, but I think having the personification of all humanities dark desires in your head while you're still in high school would fuck most people up, not to mention the family situation. And, as you can see from the end of this chapter, it's starting to win. And since you brought up the Japan thing, it's coming sooner than you think.

Now, I have to rewatch the damn Witchblade anime because it's been too damn long and I can't remember any of it...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 04

Disclaimer: I don't own the awesomely epic song used in this chapter. I wish I did.

A/N: If this chapter is oddly worded, I blame my own fucked up head and lack of any beta reader. It would be so much easier if my friends were as big of nerds as me...

_Y'know, there's nothing like a good, long walk to clear your head. I know it's cliched, but it's true. But it ain't the fresh air, it ain't the exercise. It's the fact that it's just you and your thoughts, that you can just say "Fuck the world" and think. It doesn't matter if you're surrounded by people, they don't give a fuck about you. It's the people you know that always want to get into your head, to try to figure out what you're thinking. So you step out into a world full of strangers. And how more alone can you be when you're surrounded by strangers?_

__

Jackie opted to walk this morning, not really giving a damn that he'd miss first period. English usually put him to sleep anyway, what was the point of learning about a language you already spoke? So he trudged along the city streets, headphones blaring, taking the time to think. He didn't know why he'd killed Marcus. He'd planned on just shooting him in the shoulder, but at the last second he'd... snapped. Something inside him told him to just end the threat. It wasn't the Darkness, it had been strangely quiet. Was it some new ploy of its, to pray on his natural impulses instead of just outright trying to turn him into a murderer. He'd have to look out for that.

He stepped around a businessman chattering away on his phone, something about shipping overseas. That reminded him of their trip to Japan. Janet and Maurice were at home packing, he'd packed his own stuff last night. He didn't want them poking through his things, especially since they'd probably just shove random stuff in his suitcase. They were supposed to ship off tomorrow morning, at least that's what they'd told him.

"Japan, huh," he muttered to no one in particular.

The light on the crosswalk turned green. He didn't really need to pay attention to the route, he could do this with his eyes closed. The track on his iPod switched over, he grinned.

"This rage has overcome," he sang under his breathe, "no more will I shun."

He picked his way through the crowds, not really noticing them as he just let go.

"These thoughts I've had, this lie I've lived," he was starting to growl the lyrics now, "I let them put the blame on me."

People in the crowd seemed to notice him now, this angry-seeming teen with music blaring, growling under his breath. Jackie didn't even see them, letting all his aggression out.

"Engulfed in hate, retaliate," he was growling out loud, "You can't conceal these thoughts, you can't disguise this rage."

He just kept going all the way up to the doors of the school. He popped his headphones out and shoved them into a pocket, stepping into the school office. The receptionist barely looked up at him, gesturing towards the late sheet. He signed it without looking at it and walked out.

__

"Fucking, this is bullshit," Jackie was starting to get irritated.

Mary had found him at lunch and asked if they could walk home together, get some time to chat. It wasn't like he had anything better planned, so he'd gone along with it. She said to meet her at the door when the bell rang. The bell had rung ten minutes ago. She was usually punctual to a fault, and it was actually making him kind of nervous that it was taking so long. She finally busted through the doors, skidding to a stop in front of him.

"Sorry," she panted, "Katy would not shut up."

Jackie shook his head and started off. Mary caught up to him quickly, punching him in the shoulder for leaving her behind.

"You ass," she groused.

"You were late," he shrugged. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Huh? Oh right," she shook her head to clear it, "This trip to Japan. You don't really want to go, do you?"

"I don't really care one way or another. Same shit, different country."

"But aren't you at least a little excited."

Jackie spun around suddenly, his yellow eyes burning into hers, "I'm going to be completely, totally, dead honest with you. The only reason I'm going anywhere with you lot is because I don't want you to have nothing but their influence."

"Are you claiming you're a good influence," she joked.

Jackie smirked, though his eyes remained serious, "Not at all, I'm just the bad influence you need to remind you that the world ain't all sunshine and fuckin' butterflies. I know you're a smart girl, but your parents and everyone around you treat you like a fuckin' porcelain doll. I'm not afraid to treat you like a human fucking being."

Mary gave him a dry look, "Well, when I need a reality check, I know just who to come to."

"That's what I'm here for, babe. Now c'mon, before your mother thinks I've corrupted you or something."

Mary laughed and quickly ran after him.

__

When the two of them finally made it home, they found the police waiting for them. Jackie maneuvered himself in front of Mary, giving her a reassuring look. Janet and Maurice were outside as well, and it didn't take long for Janet to start something.

"What the fuck did you do!" she screamed at him.

Jackie growled, "I didn't do shit, bitch. Now what's this all about?"

The first officer came up swiftly, cutting off Janet's indignant response, "We're not here about you, son. Do you know Marcus Filch?"

Mary stepped forward, "Yeah, he goes to our school."

"He was found dead last night, he was shot."

Mary's eyes went wide and her hand leapt to her mouth in shock. Jackie put an arm around her, and she latched onto her shirt. She hadn't liked him, but she was just too nice to be unaffected. Janet was looking at the scene with suspicion, which had him rolling his eyes in exacerbation. No doubt he'd be hearing about it later.

"You got any leads," he asked, careful to keep his tone light.

"Nothing at the moment," the second officer chimed in, "Did he have any enemies?"

"Well, I'll admit to not being fond of him, but everyone else practically worshiped his ass. There were a couple of guys who lost their girlfriends to him, and there were rumors he was gambling. Other than that, I got nothing."

"Y-yeah," Mary's voice was weak, but getting stronger, "He bragged about it sometimes, t-that he won a lot at the tables. But he couldn't even afford to buy lunch most days."

"I see," the first officer jotted down a few notes, "Well, thank you for your time."  
>Jackie watched them go, so he didn't see Janet's hand until it slapped him square across the face. He hissed in pain, quickly grabbing her wrist when she tried to slap him again.<p>

"Don't you fucking touch my daughter!" she shouted in his face.

"I didn't you fucking cunt!" he shouted right back.

"You son of a bi-"

"Enough! Shut the fuck up!" Mary shouted over them both.

Jackie and Janet both stared at her in shock. Janet had never heard her swear, Jackie had never heard her swear in front of her parents. Mary marched over to the both of them and smacked Jackie across the face. Janet's smirk was soon gone as she received one as well. Mary rounded on Jackie first, her face right on his.

"You," she growled, "You don't call my mom a cunt. She's a bitch, sure enough, but I have limits, understand?"

Jackie nodded dumbly, unsure exactly how to react. She was quickly right in her mothers face.

"And you," her voice was louder this time, "You have been a bitch to him ever since he came here. You chose to foster him, you have no right to treat him like crap."

"But Mary-" she argued weakly.

"Shut up, Mom. Yes, he's an ass, but if you didn't treat him like shit, maybe he'd be a bit nicer to you. You are the damn instigator, dammit. So quite the bitch-fits all the damn time!"

Mary didn't give them any time to talk back, stomping into the house and slamming the door behind her. Jackie was stunned for a little while, before he started to laugh.

"'Bout fuckin' time she grew a spine," he laughed.

Janet looked like she was going to cry, not that Jackie cared. He wandered into the house, heading for his room. Just before he opened the door, he heard a sound, muffled. He slowly crept towards Mary's door, listening closely for the sound. Crying. He gently rapped on the door, opening it slowly. Mary was lying on her bed, face down and crying into a pillow. Jackie sighed, moving over to put a hand on her shoulder. She glanced over to him, her eyes bloodshot, before launching herself onto him, holding him tightly and sobbing into his shoulder. Jackie sighed again, she was too damn softhearted for her own good.

"It's alright," he tried to sound comforting, this wasn't his forte, "It's alright."

She just kept crying. He slowly and carefully wrapped an arm around her, not entirely sure what to do in this circumstance. He stayed like that until she finally fell asleep. He carefully set her on the bed, before creeping out to his own room. He could hear Janet crying in her room, obviously not bothering to smother her cries. He didn't try to comfort her.

__

_So, I've never actually had anyone come to me for comfort. Ever. I'm not saying I'm surprised, I mean, most people would look to me to kick someone's ass, not give 'em a fuckin' hug. But when Mary was crying, I dunno. I wanted to help. I don't know if I did, but I tried. I've never wanted to do that before..._

__

"Alright, do we have everything?" Janet asked.

Jackie grunted an acknowledgment, hefting his pack onto his back and grabbing his suitcase. Janet was dead set on getting out of here as soon as possible, so as to not miss a moment of their vacation time. Mary sat quietly on the couch, her bags next to her. Maurice came stumbling out of the bedroom, an overloaded bag on his back.

"Alright, let's go!" Janet exclaimed, her false exuberance apparent as she skipped to the car.

Everyone else just sighed and followed.

__

Somehow or other, their seats had gotten messed up, and they ended up with two pairs of seats on opposite ends of the plane. Mary had requested for Jackie to sit next to her, and so the two of them found themselves in the front of the plane. Jackie tried to suppress a belch unsuccessfully as he finished his soda, drawing a small smile from Mary.

"Hey, Jackie," she whispered.

"Hmm?" he answered absently, watching a movie on the screen in front of him.

"Thank you, for last night I mean. It meant a lot."

That got his attention, and he turned to look at her. He tried to do what he'd read in some book at some point and look at every facet of her. He saw her as the school idol, the one everybody wanted to be. He saw her as a loving daughter to two undeserving parents. He saw her as the sister he always wanted, even if he wouldn't admit it. But did he say anything?

"Don't mention," he remarked with his trademark nonchalance.

But Mary got the message anyway.

A/N: Harlequin, it would probably scare you if I told you that no planning at all has occurred in this story. I have discovered that any story I plan comes out too damn rigid and suck-tastic. So, with my past few I've experimented with just going with the flow, and it seems to be working. I also seem to be putting more out, for that matter. I have a few larger events in my head, but for the shit in between, it's all just what seems cool at the time. But don't think I don't pay attention to stuff that happens in past chapters, it will be rearing its head again at a later date. As to the guns, I do believe you'll be happy with some of those ideas. He isn't gonna turn into a fuckin' armory, but he'll get some nice toys, believe you me. After all, I don't think any rendition of Jackie could take a Clone Blade with a 9mm, hmm?

Whoops, was that a teaser? I didn't even notice...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 05

A/N: First thing's first, this is gonna be shorter than my other chapters. Future chapters may also be shorter, all depends on how I'm feeling. Secondly, I still haven't had time to re-watch the Witchblade, so if any of the characters seem to be acting a little differently, my bad. I'll go back and change a few things after I finish it, but I think I remember most of their basic personalities. Now then, on to the story.

The plane landed with a thump, rousing Jackie from his nap. He glanced around drowsily, unknowingly knocking Mary's head from it's resting place on his shoulder. He chuckled at her sleepy squawk of indignation, watching her blink the sleep from her eyes.

"Mornin' sleeping beauty," he chuckled, "We're here."

"...shut the hell up," she grumbled.

The plane taxied into the terminal as they were stretching the kinks out of their spines. Jackie was quick to grab to their bags before anyone could get in their way.

"C'mon lazy," he chuckled, "Let's get goin' before the plane fills up."

He hauled Mary to her feet, ignoring her growls of annoyance. Quick as can be, he guided her and their bags around the other passengers, getting to the front of the plane and out the door with minimal fuss. They found a seat in the waiting area and settled in to wait for Janet and Maurice. They arrived in the stream of passengers after a while.

"Hm, now where is the baggage claim," Jackie looked around for a sign.

"Over there, c'mon!" Mary ran off before he could respond.

Jackie grunted in annoyance and ran after her, slipping between gaps in people easily. He chuckled at the sounds from behind him, Janet and Maurice trying to keep up in vain. He concentrated on following Mary, but only got a glimpse every so often through the crowd. There were too many fucking people! He growled and sped up, not really caring if he jostled the people who were in the way. After what seemed like hours he finally made his way through the human ocean and found her waiting by the baggage claim, their bags sitting next to her.

"Not fucking cool, princess," Jackie said flatly.

She just smirked at him, and he settled down next to her to wait for Janet and Maurice. Again.

__

"So where is this place we're staying at?" Maurice didn't take his eyes off the road.

"The company that invited us is supposed to have somewhere for us to stay," Janet answered absently, too busy checking herself in her little mirror.

"Which would be?"

"It's like the National Welfare Institution or something."

"The NSWF, National Scientific Welfare Foundation." Jackie interjected from the backseat.

"Aha! So you _were_ paying attention on the plane!" Mary sounded triumphant for some reason.

"...shut up, you."

"Both of you, stop arguing," Maurice ordered, earning a final scoff from Jackie, "In any case, isn't that the building over there?"

They all looked over to see the building. Jackie wasn't really impressed. Then again, he also didn't really care what the building looked like. He was more concerned about the large quantities of security surrounding the place. It looked more like a fortress than a research institute.

"Interesting look for a place of science," he remarked dryly.

"They've probably got a lot of stuff in there worth stealing," Mary said offhandedly.

Jackie grunted as Maurice steered into the facility. The guards checked their identification twice before radioing for confirmation that they were aloud to be there. After a few tense moments, they were waved on through with instructions to meet someone called "Father" in the atrium.

__

"Welcome, welcome, you must be Mary," a genial older man with a wide smile welcomed.

Jackie didn't like him immediately, something was off about him. And the Darkness had been irritable the moment that receptionist had led them into this room. What was her name...

"Ah, Nora," the old man said to his assistant, "Would you be so kind as to get our guests some refreshments?"

"Yes, Father," she bowed respectfully before leaving.

_Thieves! They lie and cheat and steal!_

"Shut up," Jackie growled under his breath, trying to get it to calm down.

"Now then, please be seated," he said, sitting down himself, "As you may know, I am the head of the NSWF, Furumizu Tatsuoki. Many people know me as Father."

"It is very nice to meet you, Furumizu-san," Mary said politely, having been coached by Nora on the way up.

"Nice digs you got her, pops," Jackie didn't give a damn about etiquette at the moment.

This just seemed to amuse the old man, and he quickly delved into a conversation with Mary about her music and the event she would be performing at. Jackie zoned them out after a while, trying to sort out why he was on edge. And why the Darkness was practically chomping at the bit to get out of here. It wasn't like it to be quite this volatile. Some of his irritation must've been noticeable, because the conversation stopped and they both turned to look at him.

"Are you feeling well, young man?" Furumizu asked.

_Thieves!_

"I'm fine," he lied, "Just a little off today is all."

The assistant returned with glasses of water, which Jackie was quick to accept. As he took a glass from her, the Darkness took objection to her close proximity. Violent objection, jarring Jackie and making him yelp in pain at something it did. His glass shattered on the ground as he hit the floor, clutching his chest in pain. The last thing he heard before blacking out was Mary's voice calling out to him. Well, close to the last thing.

_They are liars and thieves!_

__

_Contrary to what you might think, the Darkness is pretty docile most of the time. Well, in my head at least. Sure, it's annoying and evil, but it never actually tries to forcibly take over. Its smarter than that, it knows I might hurt myself in the struggle, which would be bad for it. Instead, it just tries to weaken me gradually, wear down my defenses until I let it take over. So when it decides to slam itself into my minds door and shout that something is very wrong with the situation we're in, I feel I should give it the benefit of the doubt and pay attention._

_ Y'know, cause it's the least I can do._

__

_ Wake up!_

Jackie came awake with a start, half scaring his nurse to death. He clutched at his throbbing head, deciding it was a combination of his head hitting the floor and the Darkness shouting at him. He looked around the room idly, noting from the nurses uniform that he must still be on the NSWF premises. An infirmary maybe.

"My fuckin' head," he grumbled, turning to the nurse, "Where am I?"

"This is the medical ward of the NSWF," she answered getting him a cup of water, "You were brought here for testing after you collapsed."

"Testing?" he growled.

"Yes, to see what was wrong."

"And?"

"Nothing was wrong as far as they could see, but you should take it easy young man," another voice answered for her.

The old man walked into the room, ushering the nurse to give them the room. The instant the door shut behind her, Jackie's instincts went into overdrive. The Darkness may be calm at the moment, but Jackie wasn't.

"You gave your sister quite the scare," he said conversationally, "In truth, I think you may have startled Nora a bit as well, she was quite off put."

Jackie really didn't trust him, choosing to answer as simply as he could, "I've been under some stress lately, I guess it just caught up to me."

"Stress, of course," his tone was neutral, "Well, all our tests have shown you to be in perfect health, so you may leave as soon as you're ready."

He left after that, leaving Jackie alone.

_What's wrong Jackie? You're so tense..._

Well, almost alone. But at the moment, he would take what he could get. He wasn't going to be friendly with this thing, no way in hell, but nothing was stopping him from using it to his advantage.

"Alright you," he muttered under his breath, "What has you so worked up, huh? What're you afraid of?"

It was silent for a time.

_They stole from us, they stole what was mine..._

"The fuck does that mean?" he growled, "Enough with the vague shit."

But it refused to say anymore, falling silent for the first time in days. And for the first time ever, Jackie wished it hadn't.

A/N: I wonder what the Darkness is reacting to? Maybe it's a misogynist.


End file.
